A Word to the Wise - Encouragement Café - October 7, 2015

A Word To The Wise

Café Menu for Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Today’s Special is:  The Power of the Words We Speak

Carefully prepared just for you by your friend, Aj Luck

Main Ingredient:

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Colossians 4:6 ESV

Entrée:

As a little girl on the playground I remember all the kids playfully taunting and teasing each other,

Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never harm me.

Sadly, that’s just not the truth.

The truth is broken bones heal.  Broken spirits from damaging words, often times do not.

Age six, I watch my step-father try to choke my mother while hurling devastatingly hurtful words to her like bullets from a gun.

Age sixteen, was the first time my boyfriend hit me.  I would love to tell you that the abuse slowed down, but it didn’t.  It followed me into my adult life, a misguided marriage, and ended in a horrible divorce. 

The physical abuse, the bruises and scars, they eventually healed.  However, the words, well, the words tended to linger over me for years to come.  Verbal assaults are the part of the abuse that no one sees.  Sadly they can become the strings that control us in our daily lives, like marching marionettes. 

Words truly can be like weapons.  Wounding us to our core.

However, words can also be as a refreshing rain to our parched souls.

Each one of us are living, breathing, stories.  POWERFUL stories.  We have the ability to build up or tear down simply by our words.

I don’t know what kind of past you have walked through, but I know there have been words that have wounded.  Let’s determine today to be intentional with the words we speak.  Let us be mindful of how words have caused our days to turn on a dime; some from bad to good, some just the opposite.  Let us speak words of life not only to others, but also to ourselves.  I’ll start.

You are beautiful.  You matter.  You have purpose in this world.

Take Out:

Today, let us remember to be quick to listen and slow to speak.  God gave us two ears and one mouth for a very good reason.  Our words are like ink to another person’s soul.  Let us write lasting, life giving words verses painful wounding ones.  Let us respond verses react.

Dessert:

Dear Jesus, thank You for loving us so unconditionally.  Today, help me surrender all the hurtful words that have ever been spoken over me, as well as every hurtful word that I have spoken over others so that You can replace the hurt with Your Healing.  Please help me to be quick to listen and slow to speak.  Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Your Sight oh Lord.  Thank You for being my strength and my redeemer.  Amen

© 2015 by Aj Luck.  All rights reserved.

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